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Summary of the Book of Lamentations

This summary of the book of Lamentations provides information about the title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme,
theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the Book of Lamentations.

Title

The Hebrew title of the book is 'ekah ("How . . . !"), the first
word not only in 1:1 but also in 2:1; 4:1. Because of its subject matter, the book is also referred to in Jewish tradition as qinot, "Lamentations,"
a title taken over by the Septuagint (the pre-Christian Greek translation of
the OT) and by the fourth-century Latin Vulgate.

Author and Date

Lamentations is anonymous, although ancient Jewish and early Christian traditions
ascribe it to Jeremiah. These traditions are based in part on 2Ch 35:25 (though
the "Laments" referred to there are not to be identified with the OT book of
Lamentations); in part on such texts as Jer 7:29; 8:21; 9:1,10,20; and in part
on the similarity of vocabulary and style between Lamentations and the prophecies
of Jeremiah. Moreover, such an ascription gains a measure of plausibility from
the fact that Jeremiah was an eyewitness to the divine judgment on Jerusalem
in 586 b.c., which is so vividly portrayed here. Nevertheless, we cannot be
certain who authored these carefully crafted poems or who is responsible for
putting them together into a single scroll. Lamentations poignantly expresses
the people's overwhelming sense of loss that accompanied the destruction of
Jerusalem and the temple as well as the exile of Judah's inhabitants from the
land Yahweh had covenanted to give Israel as a perpetual national homeland.

The earliest possible date for the book is 586 b.c., and the latest is 516
(when the rebuilt Jerusalem temple was dedicated). The graphic immediacy of
Lamentations argues for an earlier date, probably before 575.

Literary Features

The entire book is poetic. The first, second, fourth and fifth laments all
contain 22 verses, reflecting the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
In the first and second laments each verse contains three poetic lines; in
the fourth each verse contains two lines; and in the fifth each verse contains
but one line. The first four laments are alphabetic acrostics (see NIV text
notes on 1:1; 2:1; 3:1; 4:1). In the first, second and fourth, each numbered
verse begins with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet dictated by the traditional
order of that alphabet. The third (middle) lament is distinctive in that while
it too is made up of 22 three-line units (like laments 1 and 2), in it the
three lines of each unit all begin with the sequenced order of the letters
of the alphabet (thus three aleph lines followed by three beth lines,
etc.) -- after the manner of Ps 119. The fifth lament continues to reflect the
alphabetic pattern in its 22-line structure, but the initial letters of these
lines do not follow the alphebetic sequence (see note on 5:1-22). Use of the
alphabet as a formal structuring element indicates that, however passionate
these laments, they were composed with studied care.

Themes and Theology

Lamentations is not the only OT book that contains individual or community
laments. (A large number of the Psalms are lament poems, and every prophetic
book except Haggai includes one or more examples of the lament genre.) Lamentations
is the only book, however, that consists solely of laments.

As a series of laments over the destruction of Jerusalem (the royal city of the
Lord's kingdom) in 586 b.c., it stands in a tradition with such ancient non-Biblical
writings as the Sumerian "Lamentation over the Destruction of Ur," "Lamentation
over the Destruction of Sumer and Ur," and "Lamentation over the Destruction
of Nippur." Orthodox Jews customarily read it aloud in its entirety on the
ninth day of Ab, the traditional date of the destruction of Solomon's temple
in 586 as well as the date of the destruction of Herod's temple in a.d. 70.
Many also read it each week at the Western Wall (the "Wailing Wall") in the
Old City of Jerusalem. In addition, the book is important in traditional Roman
Catholic liturgy, where it is customarily read during the last three days of
Holy Week.

This Christian practice reminds us that the book of Lamentations not only
bemoans Jerusalem's destruction but also contains profound theological insights.
The horrors accompanying the Babylonian destruction of Judah are recited in
some detail:

But this recital is integrally woven into the fabric of a poetic wrestling
with the ways of God who, as the Lord of history, was dealing with his wayward
people.

The author of these laments and those who preserved them understood clearly
that the Babylonians were merely the human agents of divine judgment. It was
God himself who had destroyed the city and temple (1:12-15;2:1-8,17,22;4:11).
This was not a merely arbitrary act on the Lord's part; blatant, God-defying
sin and covenant-breaking rebellion were at the root of his people's woes (1:5,8-9; 4:13; 5:7,16). Although weeping (1:16;2:11,18;3:48-51) is to be expected
and cries for redress against the enemy (1:22;3:59-66) are understandable
(ps 5:10), the proper response to judgment is acknowledgment of sin (1:5,8,14,22;2:14;3:39;4:13;5:7,16) and heartfelt contrition (3:40-42).
Trust in God's mercies and faithfulness must not falter. The book that begins
with lament (1:1-2) rightly ends with an appeal to the Lord for restoration
(5:21-22).

In the middle of the book, the theology of Lamentations reaches its apex
as it focuses on the goodness of God. He is the Lord of hope (3:21,24-25),
of love (3:22), of faithfulness (3:23), of salvation and restoration (3:26).
In spite of all evidence to the contrary, "his compassions never fail. / They
are new every morning; / great is your faithfulness" (3:22-23).

Near the end of the book, faith rises from Jerusaem's lamentable condition
to acknowlege Yahweh's eternal reign: "You, O Lord, reign forever; / your throne
endures from generation to generation" (5:19; see introductions to Ps 47; 93; see also note on Ps 102:12).